The subject matter disclosed herein relates to rotors. More specifically, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to cooling of ancillary components of rotor blades.
Some rotors, for example, some main rotors for helicopters, are adaptive rotors having rotor blades which can change operational state. This is often accomplished by devices in the rotor blades which change the diameter, sweep, chord, tip shape of the blades, and/or other blade parameters. Airfoil sections of adaptive blades may incorporate flaps, slats, and active flow control. Such devices are driven by actuators disposed in the rotor blade. Whether such actuators are electrical, hydraulic, or other types of actuators, a certain amount of cooling is necessary for continued performance of the actuators. Typical cooling systems are complex, heavy, and prone to failure.